New Bedford mother on the road to recovery after stroke

Adela Gibson has suffered her share of setbacks, but she keeps moving forward, keeps smiling, and can't say enough good things about the community resources that helped her get back on her feet.

JONATHAN DARLING

NEW BEDFORD — Adela Gibson has suffered her share of setbacks.

She was the victim of a violent domestic attack in 2000 and had to escape another abusive relationship years later. She suffered a mild stroke, which took away the math skills she needed to perform her job. She labored through a long court process to get full custody of her 10-year-old daughter. Her income is less than $825 a month while her rent is $700, leaving her with hardly anything to pay bills and other expenses.

Despite all of her struggles, Adela keeps moving forward, keeps smiling, and can't say enough good things about the community resources that helped her get back on her feet.

"I have encountered people across New Bedford who have been wonderful to me," she says on the couch in her small apartment near New Bedford High School. "You go to some places, they see that you're poor and you've been in accidents and you need help and they are mean to you. All the organizations that I've visited have been amazing. So kind and respectful."

Organizations like People Acting in Community Endeavors, The Salvation Army, New Bedford Community Rowing and the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission have helped Adela get back on her feet.

Through exercises, both physically and mentally, she has nearly recovered from her 2009 stroke, and Adela — who speaks English, Spanish and Italian — is taking classes at Bristol Community College in hopes of becoming an interpreter.

She credits the kind staff at Mass. Rehab for getting her back on track.

Her troubles began in 2000 when she was the victim of a domestic incident she said was too painful to talk about. She had to escape yet another abusive relationship years later.

She was standing in a courtroom in 2009 during one of many sessions to have full custody of her daughter — a battle she finally won earlier this year — when upon discussing the abuse she and Abigail suffered, felt the left side of her face turn numb.

A week went by — a week in which she had blurred vision, severe headaches and trouble speaking. Upon a doctor's visit and MRI, she learned she had suffered a mild stroke.

She had to leave her job as a mechanical inspector for a New Bedford company shortly after.

"I couldn't do the math anymore," she recalls. "All the formulas didn't make any sense to me anymore after the stroke. Even basic math, I just couldn't do it."

The physical and mental exercises given to her by doctors — including doing basic addition problems nightly — put her on the road to recovery. She now takes classes at BCC and is close to receiving a certificate to be a certified interpreter.

"I want to help people in hospitals and court and even in the schools," says Adela, who previously volunteered in city schools as a helper and math coach.

She has been finding creative ways to earn extra money for her and Abigail. She held a few yard sales over the summer, getting some extra money for two recliners, books, toys and other items. Recently, she received $30 from an elderly neighbor for helping her pack up her summer clothes and get all of the fall and winter items out of storage.

She has used some of the extra money to get clothes for Abigail, who is the third tallest in her class at the Kempton Elementary School.

"Every time I buy clothes, they are too small in two to three months," Adela says of her fast-growing daughter. "Her winter jackets, the sleeves come down to here," she adds, pointing a little below her elbow.

Abigail received a scholarship from the Community Rowing Program over the summer and has fallen love with the sport. Her face brightens as she talks about how great her coach, Cheyenne Bayse, has been and how many friends she's made since joining the team.

"I've made like 10 friends since the summer," Abigail says. "It's really fun once you get used to it. We get to go out on the harbor and row under the bridges. We even saw seals."

Adela also praises the program and its head coach.

"Cheyenne has been like a role model for Abigail," she said. "A lot of people in New Bedford have been good to us."